Fortune Smiles Upon You (Or Maybe You're Just Lucky)
by n00dl3gal
Summary: The dubious accuracy of fortune cookies comes into question when Ai, Makoto, and Rei are all given warnings about their love lives. Rintori, MakoHaru, and Reigisa.
1. Part One- Ai

Part one of a three part epic. It's more a serious of interconnecting drabbles, but it's a thing. So.

I don't own Free!. I do have a collection of fortune cookie fortunes locked up in a tin. They stink.

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><p><strong>Part One- Ai<strong>

Ai stared, unblinking, at the slip of paper in his palm. He thought fortune cookies were supposed to spout generic niceties and Zen riddles, like horoscopes. Not be scarily accurate to the holder's current situation.

"Oi, Ai. You alright?" Rin asked, standing directly before the younger swimmer.

_That which you love most is right in front of you. Seize it before it's gone._

. . .

"It was really nice of you to invite me as well," Ai commented, helping himself to another serving of Kung-Pao chicken.

"Ai-chan, you're Rin-chan's friend, and that makes you my friend," Nagisa explained happily. Internally, Ai groaned. He hated that name...

Makoto nodded. "It feels like when we were younger, all of us playing after swim practice… Don't you agree, Haru?"

The raven-haired teen grunted in response, pushing his shrimp around with his chopsticks. Makoto signed. "You can't have mackeral every day."

A sharp laugh punctured the kitchen's chatter. "At last! A perfectly balanced and organized plate, with proper amounts of grain, vegetables, and meat!" Rei proclaimed, gesturing to his carefully crafted platter.

"Rei-chan," Nagisa whined, "it's gone cold. Just dump it on and eat!" He revealed his own dish, a hodgepodge goulash of all the entrees ordered.

Rei gasped. "Nagisa-kun! That is disrespectful to the Chinese culture- not to mention absolutely not beautiful!"

"Sho?" the blond responded, mouth full. "Aww geths jumpled yup hin my shtomach hanyway."

Rin, silently soaking in the atmosphere, munched on his spring roll. As he swallowed the final bite, he glanced at the clock. "Ai."

"Y-yes, Rin-senpai?"

The redhead wiped his greasy hands off on his jeans. "Curfew's in an should head back to Samezuka."

"Wait!" called the lone female voice. "I got us all fortune cookies!"

"Fortune cookies?" Makoto asked.

Surprisingly, it was Rin, not Rei, that answered. "They're these cracker-like sweets that have paper inside that say garbage about destiny. Like that Zodiac crap."

"Exactly!" His sister chirped. "And I requested them especially for you, onii-chan. Since you used to have them in Australia."

Rin nodded. "Huh. Not bad. Thanks, Kou." The younger Matsuoka beamed in response. "Still. Gotta leave no. We'll have them back at the dorm."

"Alright!" both Kou and Ai responded.

The two from Samezuka said their goodbyes and left from Nagisa's house in the direction of the train platform. "Sorry about that," Rin said after a few minute's walk.

"Huh?" The gray-haired boy cocked his head. "Sorry for what?"

"The Iwatobi gang. They can be… boisterous."

"I didn't find them that bad. Rather pleasant, actually," Ai answered.

Rin shook his head. "You were withdrawn and barely talked. Not your usual self. Uncomfortable."

"W-well, I-" Ai stammered. "I-I suppose- you noticed?" His cheeks flushed.

"You're my roommate. And my friend. I'd like to think I know you pretty well."

_Not well enough, _Ai thought. He knew the second he met the older teen that he was engrossed. He suspected Rin was as a well, but it was too difficult to judge for sure. Rin was far too invested in Haruka, yet skipped over "Aiichiro" for the decidedly more intimate "Ai." It even meant-

"Crap!" Rin's yell tore Ai from his thoughts. "That's the train! Hurry up, Ai!"

The boy sprinted after both the locomotive and his friend, but neither boy had the speed to catch their ride back to school. Ai grasped his knees and panted as Rin glossed over the timetable. "Next one isn't for twenty minutes. Damn!" he swore, kicking the sign in frustration.

Ai glanced around the platform. Save from themselves and the benches, the glow of the vending machine revealed nothing. They were alone.

Rin leaned against the chain-link fence, breathing deeply. "Need some water, senpai?"

The redhead brushed away the offer with his hand. "Guess we'll be here awhile, though, so maybe a snack?" He yanked the cellophane-wrapped cookies from his pocket and tossed one at Ai. "Make sure you don't eat the fortune."

Ai carefully opened the plastic, revealing the crispy treat inside. He broke the cookie in half and unfurled the paper.

Then he froze.

. . .

"Seriously, Ai, are you OK? You haven't moved in over a minute," Rin questioned, worry creeping into his voice.

Ai's pupils flicked between the paper and Rin. _It's just not possible. Not. Possible. _

Yet there he was, face just inches from the other's, Rin's hands on his shoulders. "I…"

_Seize it.  
><em>  
>Ai used his remaining control to push himself forward, cookie shattering on the ground.<p>

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><p>I like the character interactions in this one. Feel very natural.<p>

Tomorrow- Makoto realizes that Haru isn't as dense as he once thought.

Also: I wrote this for a friend who is partial to Sourin instead, so here's a deleted scene, left out to make it more ambiguous to her tastes.

When Ai backed away, his fingers continued to trace Rin's defined cheekbones. Rin, in response, smirked.

"Heh. Not bad at all, Ai. But you need more practice..."


	2. Part Two- Makoto

Thanks to my friend Shinx for proofreading and Brittany for the encouragement!

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><p>Makoto's throat dried instantaneously. Yes, he buried his goldfish; yes, he's more superstitious than he'd care to admit. But even for him, this was ridiculous.<p>

Haru paused after noticing the brunet's expression. "Makoto."

Green eyes squinted at the strip of paper, a shuddering breath puncturing the night.

_Silent affection will forever go unnoticed. _

. . .

Not long after Rin and Nitori left, Haru stood up and grabbed his knapsack. "Thanks for the food."

"Ah, Haru-chan, are you leaving already?" Nagisa frowned.

"There's a test tomorrow" was all the black-haired swimmer offered in explanation.

Makoto rose from the floor as well and stretched his back muscles. "I need to study as well, Nagisa. But thank you for having me over."

Gou- Kou?- wiped the crumbs off her skirt. "Should probably head back myself. It's getting kinda dark." She placed a cookie in each boy's hands. "I'll see you tomorrow at practice!" With that, she bowed and exited, ponytail bouncing in the evening wind.

"I should also take my exi-" Rei began, but was cut off by Nagisa wrapping himself around Rei's legs.

"No, Rei-chan! Stay and help me study! I could barely understand anything in math today…"

"Nagisa-kun…" Rei sighed, pushing up his glasses, but ultimately agreeing with a "very well- but no silliness!"

Makoto gave a small laugh at the younger boys' antics, but nearly tripped grabbing his stuff as Haru headed for the door. "Haru-chan, wait!"

Haru did stop on the front lawn, however, his expression was unreadable. "Drop the -chan."

A smile graced the brunet's lips. "Maybe."

The pair walked towards their houses, a comfortable silence settling in. "That was fun," Makoto said eventually. Haru just shrugs. "Nice to hang out with Rin and Nitori outside of the pool."

"Nitori is strange," Haru replied.

Makoto's grin faded somewhat. "How so?"

Another shrug. "I don't know him."

"That doesn't make him odd. It just means you need to spend more time with him. You felt the same way about Rei at first, remember?"

Makoto didn't get a verbal response, but he could tell Haru agreed by the way his shoulders relax. Those kind of reactions were easy for Makoto to analyze. In fact, there was only one thing he had difficulty deciphering.

Could Haru love?

It wasn't that Makoto doubted Haru's ability to care for something, take pleasure in it, express affection. There was no denying his… unique attraction towards water, and the adoration for mackerel wasn't to be glossed over, either. And he could clearly build relationships; his friends were proof of that.

Yet this was the same person who stayed behind when his family moved, had never shown interest in other students of either gender, was apathetic to the center. _Maybe, _Makoto thought, _Haru simply couldn't love._

This was not a problem for himself. From a very young age, Makoto was acutely aware of his fondness for his best friend. He could even pinpoint the exact moment he realized- the day Haru quit swimming and his whole world shattered.

Now though, Haru was happy. Perhaps not outwardly so, but Makoto could tell. And so he was happy as well.

Makoto could also sense how stressed Haru was. The party- he lacked a better term- flustered the shorter boy. "You lied about the test, right? So you could go home and take a bath?"

Haru didn't answer at first, but after a minute, said "thanks for going along."

"No problem." They had reached the staircase- their place to part ways. The ocean's waves provided a soothing soundtrack. "Before you head home, though, do you mind sharing the fortune you got?"

Haru turned to face Makoto. "Oh. The cookies. Yeah, sure." He fished the treat from his bag.

Makoto took his own snack and unwrapped the crinkly plastic. He bit into the treat, making sure to grab the paper first.

"'It is always darkest before the dawn,'" Haru recited with a scoff. "You?"

Makoto didn't respond. He was too busy shaking.

. . .

"What does it say?" Haru asked, foot tapping.

"W-what? Oh!" Makoto blushed. "U-uh, 'meet y-your destiny with open arms.' Pretty silly, huh?"

Haru nodded. "See you tomorrow." He began to walk his route home.

"Wait!" Makoto yelled before he could even process his own actions.

Haru stopped walking but faced forward. Makoto took a shaky breath. "Haru, you know that I…"

_It's now or never._

"You know that I like you, right?"

He shouted it more at the ground than at Haru, but the footsteps growing louder indicated he heard. "I know. I do too."

Makoto shook his head, laughing bitterly. Of course he didn't get it. "No, Haruka…" His voice suddenly dropped to a mouse's call. "I-I mean that I… I love you."

Silence. Not even the ocean interrupted. Then… a sigh. "I know, Makoto. I do too."

Makoto's head jerked up at lightspeed, desperate to meet Haru's eyes. But there was no Haru in his field of vision. Instead, a cool and sandpapery texture pressed itself to his jawline for a second. Makoto looked to his side and the teen pulling away from him.

"...I meant to do your cheek," Haru said quietly, a red dust over his face. "You're too damn tall."

Makoto laughed, drowning out the tide rolling in, and took Haru's hand, forgetting why he was nervous in the first place.

No wonder Rin had called fortune cookies stupid. They could never be right.

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><p>Haru is an absolute cupcake. Tomorrow, we have dorks and thugs. Awwwwwww yeah.<p> 


	3. Part Three- Rei

And finally, Rei. My muse got out of hand in this one... I blame Nagisa's hyperactivity.

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><p>This, Rei decided, was most certainly not beautiful. The sweatiness of his palms, how ragged and shallow his breaths were. The concern on Nagisa's face.<p>

"Rei-chan? Are you alright? Should I go get some medicine?" The blond felt the other boy's forehead. Rei read his fortune once more.

_A butterfly only stays if it's admired._

. . .

"You said you had difficulty with the math assignment?" Rei asked, plucking the appropriate textbook from his bookbag.

"Ugh, Rei-chan," Nagisa moaned, "so soon? Don't you want any dessert?"

Rei adjusted his glasses. "Nagisa-kun, you requested I stay to tutor you. I don't tend to go back on my word. Besides, we just finished dinner."

"But I'm hungry!" the shorter boy whined, laying on his back on the floor.

"How? You ate nearly-" The blue-haired swimmer remembered who he was talking to. With a sigh, he suggested they work for a while then break for some sweets.

"OK!" Nagisa agreed happily.

Rei sat cross-legged across from his friend. "Now. Do you remember what today's lesson was about?"

"I'm not that silly, Rei-chan!" Nagisa chirped, mildly annoyed. "It was multiplying fractions."

"Correct! Do you remember what order you multiply in?"

"Um… the top ones on the first fraction against the bottom numbers of the second fraction? And vice versa?" Nagisa's uncertainty was apparent.

Rei frowned. "No, that's wrong. You multiply the numerators, then the denominators," he explained.

"Numberators?" Pink eyes scrunched in disgust.

Rei nearly laughed. Nagisa was being awfully cu- "um, not quite," he blurted, words slurring slightly in his embarrassment. "Numerators. The top ones. Maybe a demonstration?" He chose a blank page of notebook paper and a simple black pen. "Observe." He wrote the equation 2/4 x ⅞ down. "The first step is simplification. Can you determine which fraction needs to be simplified?" he asked in his most authoritative voice.

Nagisa's eyes rolled. "2/4 becomes ½, duh, I'm not dumb."

Rei nodded and crossed the fraction out, replacing it with ½. "Now you multiply the numerators- in this case, one times seven, which is-"

"Seven," the blond interrupted. He pulled a vibrant salmon pen out of what seemed like thin air and placed a seven over a new line.

"And two times eight is sixteen," Rei said quickly, desperate to reign in his pupil. "Then if possible, you simplify the result, and that's all."

Nagisa applauded. "Rei-chan is a much better teacher than those at school!"

Rei flushed. "H-how about you try a few on your own?" He jotted down a few simple problems on a fresh sheet for Nagisa to solve, who tackled the assignment with gusto, tongue sticking out as he concentrated.

The boy in glasses had to admit that this was one of Nagisa's more endearing traits, especially considering how… physical he was willing to be. So brash and fearless, but, with that peek of flesh between his teeth, so vulnerable. So… cute.

Rei loathed that word. In his eyes, beauty was all. But Nagisa defied conventional classification. He could be absolutely hideous yet still somehow gorgeous. Not just physically as well. Nagisa's very core was a whirling monstrosity of divine innocence and sadistic cruelty.

Rei adored each and every part of him.

It took him a while to accept this, this… crush, would be the best word in this scenario. It was so awkward, feeling this for a friend- a male friend- but Rei was beyond caring. He just wished to know if the way Nagisa treated him was different from the affection he showed towards others.

"Finished!" Nagisa exclaimed, returning the paper to his tutor. "How'd I do?"

Rei quickly reviewed the sheet and smiled. "100% correct. Which, I suppose, is worthy of a reward."

"Yay!" Nagisa ran into the kitchen and returned with two bowls of ice cream, fortune cookies perched on top. "Open it, Rei-chan!"

Rei did and read his supposed destiny. Then he spat out his dessert.

. . .

Nagisa took both bowls of frozen dairy and set them aside before prying the paper out of Rei's fingers. "Oooohhhh," he said, clarity coming to him.

"Nagisa-kun… I have no idea how such a barbaric sentiment came into my possession-"

"Shh," the smaller teen mouthed, lips creeping upward. "Rei-chan isn't at fault."

"He isn't?" Rei asked. "I mean, I'm not?"

Nagisa got on all fours, nearly in Rei's lap. "Does Rei-chan like butterflies?" A nod. Words continued to pour out of Nagisa's mouth as he inched closer. "I do too. There's one in particular I like."

His lips were gentle and willing, simply testing Rei's boundaries, and for Rei, it felt beautiful.

Smirking, Nagisa shoved his friend to the floor, hooking his legs on either side of Rei's waist. "A fine specimen to pin down," he purred.

Rei gasped, not from Nagisa's actions, but the appearance of the blond's mother. "Are you boys alright?"

"We're fine, mom!" Nagisa called back unabashedly. "Just teaching Rei-chan not to trust fortune cookies."

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><p>Tomorrow, an epilogue of sorts. The truth of the strange phenomena haunting our swimming hotties will be revealed.<p> 


	4. Epilogue

And now, the epic conclusion.

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><p>Kou checked her purse as soon as she was a block away from Nagisa's house. Sure enough, four fortune cookies were inside.<p>

She broke each one open and read the slips of paper. Nothing especially prophetic, just the general crap, although one did mention her birthday as a lucky number.

Humming and beaming, she made her way home. The first text message she was expecting came from her brother on their front stoop: _Hey, Ai needs to meet the family._

A few minutes later, a text from Makoto arrived. Kou set aside her homework to read it: _I have announcement to make tomorrow at practice…_

Finally, before bed, a surprise- Nagisa: _Thank you, Gou-chan! _

She smiled as she shut her door for the night. "Just call me Kou-pid," she whispered.

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><p>shot for horrible pun

Thank you for reading this! I have another MakoHaru oneshot in the works, alongside other projects which you can see on my profile page.


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